For all the fouls and point/counter-point tactics, it was the 7-foot-4, 300-pound postman who delivered the Allstate Maui Invitational title to second-ranked Purdue.

Zach Edey, the reigning national player of the year, conjured 28 points, 15 rebounds, and two key plays down the stretch as the Boilermakers defeated No. 4 Marquette 78-75 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Wednesday.

Edey was named MVP, a reward for three games of absorbing jabs, bumps and a succession of grasping defenders.

“Absolutely,” Edey said in response to whether the punishment fit the grind. “Winning’s always worth it. I’m not going to go on the court and not try to compete for every rebound, (not) try to compete for every loose ball. That’s the way I play. That’s the way Purdue plays.”

Oso Ighodaro hit a short jumper to close Marquette to 76-75 with 53 seconds to play. After a timeout, the Boilermakers worked the ball around the perimeter until it ended up with point guard Braden Smith on the right wing. Smith took two dribble strides to the right, pump faked, and then launched a shot from behind the arc.

“With good shooters, a lot of times you get those short bounces,” said Edey, who maneuvered to the right of Ighodaro’s boxout in the low post. “Braden’s a good shooter, obviously. The ball kind of came to me.”

Edey caught it with his right hand and in one motion made the layup to extend the lead to 78-75 with 16 seconds to play.

“I couldn’t get two hands on (the basketball), so I tried to get it at the rim,” Edey said. “It worked.”

Then Marquette’s Tyler Kolek misfired on a 3, and Purdue’s Mason Gillis grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 10 seconds to play.

Gillis missed the one-and-one free throw, but Edey curled into the lane to grab the offensive rebound. Purdue coach Mark Painter said Edey is “so hard to handle on the free-throw boxouts. Getting that rebound right there, it took a little more time off.”

Edey was fouled with 6 seconds left, but he also missed the free throw. Ighodaro rebounded, and fed Kam Jones, who raced the other way.

Defensive specialist Lance Jones met Jones at midcourt. “Coach wanted us to foul at halfcourt,” Jones said. “I kind of felt (Kam Jones) lost his dribble a little bit. He did like a half spin. I didn’t want to put myself in a position to foul where he could get a (3-point) shot up. I played him straight up, and he took a bad one. Well, it was a prayer, but it didn’t go in.”

Ighodaro, who sparked Marquette’s upset of No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday, was in early foul trouble on Wednesday. The Golden Eagles rotated defenders on Edey, including 6-foot-3 Stevie Mitchell. Despite committing 18 fouls, coach Shaka Smart insisted, the Golden Eagles should not ease on their aggressiveness.

“Regardless of circumstances, we have to play our way,” Smart said. “The stuff we do (defensively) is not going to work against a team like Purdue unless we do it with max effort.”

But Marquette also had to deal with Purdue’s dynamic guards Smith and Fletcher Loyer. Both are sharpshooters who excel on off-the-ball cuts and moves. “I thought our guys, at times, did a nice job on Smith,” Smart said. “At other times, he got loose. He obviously shot the heck out of it (4-for6 on 3s).”

And then there was Lance Jones’ 71-foot shot as time expired in the first half. PJ Thompson, Purdue’s director of player personnel, relayed the message not to shoot improbable shots. “Nobody can shoot it?” Jones recalled asking. “And then he said, ‘if you’re going to shoot it., you’ve got to shoot it from right here,’ in front of the bench. Mason Gillis threw it to me. It felt good leaving my hands.”

The shot was true, giving Purdue a 45-33 lead at the intermission.